OSU Physics Pioneer Bunny Clark to deliver 355th Commencement Address

University Distinguished Professor Bunny C. Clark will deliver the address during Ohio State's 355th Commencement ceremonies, Friday, March 16 at 9 a.m.

Highly regarded in the scientific community, Professor Clark is considered a pioneer in the field of theoretical physics, especially in the relativistic treatment of nuclear reactions. She has published more than 80 scholarly articles and presented more than 150 lectures on her research, which has had a major impact on theoretical physics. National recognition for her research expertise has included selection as an American Physical Society Fellow in 1984 and an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow in 1996. In 1999 she received the Fowler Award for Excellence in Nuclear Physics from the Ohio Section of the American Physical Society.

The William Fowler Award for Distinguished Research in Physics honors those members of the American Physical Society with "appreciable connections to the State of Ohio, and who have done outstand-ing research in physics." OSAPS created the award in honor of William Fowler, an Ohio State graduate in Engineering Physics, who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983 for his work on stellar nucleosynthesis. According to Clark's nomination for the award, her "contributions to physics… affect the research of many individuals and changed the direction of research work in her area."

Central to her nomination was her success at proving that the Dirac equation, which is used for describing electrons, can also be used for describing protons and neutrons. "She overcame fierce opposition to her approach, and convinced the international community of its merit by precisely fitting experimental data that had withstood all previous efforts to explain," her nominator wrote.

When Clark proved that Dirac equation applied to the building blocks of atomic nuclei, she not only rewrote the physics textbooks around the world, but inspired nearly every major nuclear physics group around the United States to study relativistic effects as well.

Winter Quarter Commencement Information

Ohio State's Department of Physics

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